HEMPHILL, Texas – Competitors at the 2001 Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship took off this morning from Pendleton Marina onto a severely low Toledo Bend Reservoir, where they had to dodge forests of timber that now rest above the water line.
The 102 pros and co-anglers will have their work cut out for them, literally, over the next two days as they try to make their way around Toledo Bend to find bass. Due to maintenance at the dam on the lake’s lower end, water levels have been dropped over 10 feet, leaving piers and docks high and dry and revealing the forests of stumps and trees that normally rest comfortably below the surface. Anglers will be forced to use the numerous boat lanes cut throughout the lake to navigate during the tournament.
The purse for the championship is a hefty $195,000 with the Pro Division winner taking home a possible $70,000 and the Co-angler Division winner pocketing a possible $40,000. Competitors are fishing for a two-day combined weight.
Weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday will start at 3:30 p.m. at the Wal-Mart located in nearby Many, La.
Vital statistics
Sunrise: 7:20 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 52 degrees
Expected high temperature: 78 degrees
Wind: Southeast at less than 5 mph
Relative humidity: 88 percent
Day’s outlook: Sunny
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